


The Hunted

by XxChillyxX



Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-26
Updated: 2017-05-25
Packaged: 2018-11-05 00:33:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 22,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11002230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XxChillyxX/pseuds/XxChillyxX
Summary: A new hunter is in town after demons. He ends up finding Dante and Nero in the process. Soon the part-demon hunters become the hunted. What will happen, and where does the line on morality fall on part demon part humans?





	1. Chapter 1

It was a dreary day outside- the clouds were grey and thick waiting to release their rain. A downcast was set over Capulet city. Inside Devil May Cry Nero and Dante were up to their usual selves.  
"Damnit old man, there is never any food in this fridge," Nero shouted from the kitchen as he flung the refrigerator door shut with a definite "thud". Utter frustration was plastered on his face, and it didn't help that his belly had been growling for a while now.  
"Well kid, maybe you should buy some groceries and not make me your keeper," said Dante as he idly flipped through his magazine of "Fast Girls Monthly" -as he called it. The older man was propped back in his old chair with his boot-clad feet resting on the worn desk in front of him. Nero angrily entered the room.  
"Are you kidding me, my "keeper", I just bought groceries last week and guess who ate them all?" Nero stood in front of the desk waiting impatiently for Dante to answer him. It had been like this since he had come to live here in Capulet city. Nero bought the food, with the exception of Dante bringing home pizza and beer of course. On top of that, he also usually ended up doing most of the picking up and tidying of the place.  
"Don't blame me because you eat like a whale." Dante chuckled a bit at himself- the hunter found himself hilarious.  
Arguing with Dante was like arguing with a brick wall. Nero simply threw his hands up and left the room. He went upstairs to his bedroom; a modest space with a few pieces of furniture and little decoration. He grabbed his jacket and slipped his arms through the sleeves. It was a bit chilly out and Nero had to trek to the store- super…  
The younger hunter reluctantly walked through the main room to exit the building, and he knew what was coming. He took a deep breath and didn't make eye contact as he headed for the front door.  
"Hey, since you're going out pick me up a pie, no olives, on your way back- and maybe a case of tomato juice kid."  
Nero froze, rage running over him. He had such a short fuse, and Dante just loved to light it. Instead of lashing out, exactly what the old man wanted, Nero hurriedly left the building- but not without slamming the door behind him.  
"Oh, that'll show me," chuckled Dante as he flipped another page in his reading material.  
________________________________________  
Nero pulled his coat a little tighter as he walked the streets of the city, headed to the run-down grocery store a few blocks over. There were a few people out, those that were had a bleak demeanor. The whole town, it was the complete opposite of Fortuna. Whereas his home city was full of thriving people who were willing to help their neighbors, Capulet city was filled with closed-off people; everything was distant and cold.  
The city itself reflected this; the buildings were bleak with cracks running through their bones. Fortuna was bursting with vibrant colors and lush vegetation. Sometimes if he closed his eyes he could also hear the crashing of the waves on the shore, a sound he desperately missed.  
So why had he left the city he called home? Nero's thoughts flashed to Kyrie. Their flame had burned fast; they were together a mere six months before everything ended. Nero was always away, and even when he was home he had had a way of shutting Kyrie out. What he thought was love, was in fact a sibling-like affection. Nero hated that his actions pained her, so they decided to split; it hurt at first but it would be better in the end.  
His thoughts trailed off as he approached the hole-in-the-wall grocery store that he frequented. He usually came by to pick up his essentials like toothpaste, chips, and an occasional slurpie.  
Nero sauntered the aisles and picked up a few things: bread, meat, Dante's damn tomato juice, etc. He paid for his supplies with what little money he had left. Business had been slow for about a month now, the demons just weren't terrorizing like they use to. There were less and less sightings, and it affected Nero's wallet. Dante, however, didn't mind- he took it as a much needed break. And, his money would be snatched away by Lady anyways. So the old man spent his time lounging around mooching off of Nero ironically.  
The cashier bagged up Nero's groceries in a large brown bag and glanced at Nero's right arm. The grocer had seen him enough times that he didn't stare too long at Nero's devil bringer which was only visible from the wrist down anyways. The man bid Nero farewell.  
Nero left the store and picked up his pace going back to the shop- he was starving. He decided to cut behind a building to shave off a few minutes of his journey. The soft thud of his leather boots masked a low stomach growl. He gripped his bag tighter.  
As Nero rounded the corner of the building he was suddenly met with a dark figure. A man stood in front of him, sporting a black ensemble including boots, and large hat, and a trench coat. Nero halted and stared at the man for a second.  
"Uh, can I help you?" Nero suddenly felt a chill run down his spine as the man stood eerily still. The young slayer peered around for a second feeling very confused before he finally rolled his eyes and went to move past the man. He didn't have time for any weirdoes today.  
The man lifted his hat to look at Nero and spoke. "Where are you going?" The two were about ten feet apart, the man caught Nero's gaze and waited for a reply.  
"Look man, I don't know who you are but your being a creep and I'm going home," said Nero nonchalantly. After saying this he felt a new tension in the air and Nero grabbed his grocery bag tighter awaiting any sudden movements from the stranger.  
"You are a demon," the man spoke. After hearing this Nero felt another chill. "It is my job as a demon hunter to kill all demons that plague this fair city." The man reached into the back of his coat and pulled out a pistol.


	2. Chapter 2

Nero instinctively followed suit and withdrew blue rose. There he was with his trusted pistol in one hand, and a bag of groceries in the other- Dante would have died laughing seeing him like this. His muscles tensed in anticipation as his fingers wrapped more tightly over the fire-arm.

He gritted his teeth and waited for more movement from his opponent. The man standing before him was human, and despite what he surely wanted to do, he couldn't just unload into the guy for drawing a weapon on him. Maybe the man mistook him for a "real" demon.

"Look man, I don't know what you have against me but I'm a demon hunter too," said Nero as he lowered his aim to promote trust between himself and the stranger. The man held his aim on Nero and pondered the words a moment before he retorted.

"What a mockery, a demon parading around as a demon hunter- do you take me for a fool?" The man took a step towards Nero, and the slayer responded by letting his left foot slide back in anticipation. "I have been in this town for over a month now cleaning up these streets of demonic filth and have yet to run into any other demon slayers."

Nero stood dumbfounded for a moment. It was true; business had been slow for a while. Dante, Lady, and himself had been forced to take jobs outside of Capulet city. As for Trish, well she had been gone for about six weeks now- who knew when she would pop back up again. This explained the lack of demons in the city. But if this man was telling the truth then he was truly skilled indeed. Not even he and Dante had controlled the demon outbreaks like this man had.

"Listen, I don't have time for your demonic grudges right now. I hunt demons, and I don't want to fight with you old man…" Nero barely finished his sentence before a shot rang out into the chill air. A hole was pierced straight through the bag of groceries in the clutches of his right arm. He had side-swept the bullet and it had barely missed his midsection.  
"Shit, that was my lunch! That's it!" Nero aimed blue rose at the man once again. He didn't intend to kill the man, just hurt him enough so that he could get some sense into him. Taking human life was not a part of his lifestyle.

Another shot rang out and Nero was on the move. The young slayer slid to the side then barreled towards the hunter. He aimed blue rose at the man's leg and shot. The dark hunter pulled a machete from his coat and deflected the bullet with ease.

"Looks like we have a Marry Poppins demon hunter," said Nero as he ran towards the man preparing his devil bringer for action. As he came into close contact range with the man he swiped his clawed arm for the man's torso. His assault was stopped by the machete. Nero was taken back for a second. Usually steel weapons would falter under the demonic strength of his devil bringer. He examined the blade again and saw a faint blue glow emitting from the weapon. The hunter took Nero's distraction into his advantage and shot again at Nero. This time the bullet pierced through Nero's upper thigh with ease.  
Nero winced in pain from the bullet. He immediately jumped back to put some distance between the two of them. Dark crimson was already starting to spread over his thigh and down his leg. It hurt, but he knew that he would begin healing soon.

"Your arm, it's a clear sign that you are demon boy," said the hunter still holding his smoking pistol in one hand and machete in the other. He took a step towards Nero, and Nero instantly began to feel caged and trapped. The wound was bleeding pretty badly and he hated the feeling of being cornered with nowhere to go.

"I'm not trying to argue that I'm not a demon, I'm saying that I hunt demons as well and mean you no harm," he winced as he let more weight rest on his left leg. The man just wasn't taking the hint and Nero worried that if his machete was able to withstand his devil bringer then maybe he could pull out another weapon from his coat that could "really" hurt him.

"There's no use for more words; unless you want to tell me where the rest of the "nest" resides. If I know anything it's that demons enjoy each other's damned company." Nero studied the man's face for the first time. He appeared to be about mid 30's with slick black hair tucked under a hat, and a relatively clean-cut appearance. Whoever this man was and wherever he came from Nero didn't know- all he knew was that the situation was escalating and he needed to get out.

Nero took in a deep breath and made a break for it past the hunter. His leg pulsed with pain at every step but he continued on with the hopes of not being caught. The hunter pointed his pistol again and aimed for Nero's back. Expecting this, Nero withdrew Yamato, something he thought he would never have to do against an opponent like him. He stopped momentarily to twirl Yamato and deflect the bullet- a useful trick that Dante had taught him a while back. After the brief pause he continued on his path again hoping the hunter wasn't behind him.

Without looking over his shoulder, relying on his hearing to determine any danger Nero ran as fast as he could away from the battle scene. Just in case the hunter was still following him, he deemed it wise to not go straight back to Devil May Cry. He ran a few blocks and hid in another alley until the coast was clear and his heart stopped pounding.

Nero's head was swimming with what all had just happened. Nobody had ever made a big deal about him being part demon before, of course most everyday people wouldn't know. This man had drawn a weapon on him like he was a stray dog. He removed the belt he was wearing and cinched it around his upper thigh to control some of the bleeding. It would probably be closed up by the time he reached the office, but he didn't want to chance losing more blood than necessary with the psycho on the loose.

"Dante will never let me live this down," thought Nero to himself. "The old man loves seeing me get beaten; like he takes joy in my pain- fucking sadist." He let out a sigh and sheathed Yamato. Nero still held blue rose in his left hand, and did so all the way back to Devil May Cry.


	3. Chapter 3

With a big sigh Nero opened the front door to the run-down office that he and Dante called home. The trip there hadn't been too bad- the bullet wound was almost healed, but thick blood still clung to his pants and down to his boots.

Nero's eyes immediately shot over to Dante's usual place slacking off and being lazy- his desk. With a breath of relief Nero realized that Dante wasn't there, he was probably off piddling around or taking a nap upstairs. Whatever the reason Nero was glad, maybe he could make it out of this without Dante finding out and ridiculing him for the next six months.

The young slayer swiftly made his way through the main office area upstairs to the bathroom. He needed to clean off the blood and dispose of his pants pronto. Nero topped the stairs and was met with Dante leaning against the wall near the bathroom.

"Look what we have here," mocked Dante to Nero," I can't even send you on a little errand without something taking a bite out of you." The elder man had a smile plastered on his face. He stood up and opened his arm to gesture to the bathroom. "Better go clean yourself up kid."

"Can it old man, it wasn't a demon that attacked me," responded Nero with an edge in his voice.  
The entire mood of the area shifted. The smile on Dante's face melted away into a more intense look. "What do you mean it wasn't a demon- what attacked you?" Dante looked at him intently awaiting his reply.

"I don't know, some guy that said he was a demon hunter," began Nero still partially confused himself," he called me a demon then shot at me. I don't know what his damn problem was…" He looked over to Dante and saw that the old man was looking at the floor taking it all in.

"So some guy, a human, called you a demon then shot you- am I correct," questioned Dante seeking a little clarification.  
"Yeah that's right. What are we going to do Dante," asked Nero.

"Well kid, I'll tell you what to do. Don't get shot next time!" Dante let out a chuckle at the end of his statement- his worldly advice. He smiled at Nero then walked past him to go down into the main office again.

Nero had an incredulous look on his face- what just happened? "So, some guy shoots me, and all you can say is 'don't get shot again'? I can't fucking believe you!" Infuriated he trudged to the bathroom door.

"Hey kid, what do you want me to say," stated Dante. "This guys a human, and a demon hunter. Well I hate to break it to ya kid, but you're part demon. Do you expect me to run out and find him and run him through with Alistor?"

Nero halted at hearing this. He hadn't really thought it through. True, he didn't want the guy killed; he could have done that himself. "Well what are we suppose to do, let some demon hunter go around taking our work and slap some targets onto our backs?" Nero and Dante were facing each other, both kind of stuck on where to go from here.

"Listen kid, all I can say is that he is doing good- he is ridding the town of demons and isn't harming any humans," stated Dante with a sigh slipped in there. "Just stay out of his way, or try talking to him- there isn't really much we can do."

"Try talking to him, yeah the next time I try that I'll get a bullet through my head," responded Nero while averting his gaze to the bathroom door.  
"Great!" Dante turned his back and began descending the stairs. "Oh and you forgot my juice kid!" Dante laughed at himself again as he retreated away.

Nero gritted his teeth before entering the bathroom and shutting the door behind him. It was all so infuriating to him. What was he suppose to do with a guy on the loose who had a bullet with his name on it? Maybe the city would clear out of demons and the man would move on- he had to have come from somewhere before he found his way to Capulet city. He pondered all this before removing his boots and stripping off his pants and the belt strapped around his upper thigh. The bullet wound was closed completely now- the blood, however, remained.

After cleaning up the area and slipping on a new pair of jeans he went downstairs to dispose of the old blood-soaked ones that he once wore. Nero waltzed down the stairs with the pants in one hand and made his way to the kitchen. Upon entering the kitchen he looked over and saw Lady.

"What's shakin Nero, Dante tells me that you had a run-in with another demon hunter today," said Lady with neither pity nor amusement on her face. "What did the guy look like?"

Nero threw the pants away then turned to Lady. She was dressed in a long-sleeve black top and a pair of shorts that left little to the imagination, along with her knee-high combat boots that she loved to sport. "He was fairly young, with black hair. His outfit was all black: a trench coat, pants, and a hat too. He used a regular pistol, and a machete that had a blue hue to it."

"Hmm, he doesn't sound familiar, but it sounds like the weapon he was using was a demon hunting weapon," said Lady. She was finishing up a glass of water, and scooted it back onto the counter. The female hunter crossed her arms and explained," sometimes hunters use weapons that are made to inflict a lot of damage on demons- they keep a demon from healing itself you see. They are pretty rare though, so you don't see them often."

"Good thing he didn't slice me up then," replied Nero as he thought of the encounter earlier that day. Lady nodded her head in agreement and headed towards the main area where Dante was surely waiting. The two walked into the room and noticed Dante who was leaning back in his chair with his hands behind his head.  
"Were you eavesdropping," questioned Lady coyly as she went over to sit on his desk.

"Eavesdropping, I was only listening to you two cluck about in there like two old hens." He peered over at Lady who had a scowl on her face. He enjoyed pushing her buttons as well- except that she could push back even harder.

"Old hens, why don't you go do something productive you lazy ass- like go make me some money," snorted Lady. She crossed her arms and shot him a dirty glare. Nero planted himself on the sofa across the room. This was his favorite part of the day, when Lady and Dante poked at each other- usually resulting in Dante getting the Hell smacked out of him.

"Sorry babe can't do that. You see, I haven't gotten any calls lately- so I cannot get paid and therefore cannot pay you. I'm on vacation until further notice sweet cheeks." Lady reared back and gave Dante a hard punch to the arm. He rubbed his arm and made a scowl. Nero let out a chuckle- served Dante right.

"Well this new hunter is starting to affect my business- guess I better investigate this more," lady stood up and threw on her sunglasses. "Later boys." She smiled and picked up her helmet before leaving the building.

"At least someone cares," whispered Nero as he leaned back onto the couch and closed his eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

That night a heavy rain moved into the city. The constant pitter-patter of rain and occasional low growl of thunder persisted throughout the night. Nero lay in bed with his hands resting behind his head. So many thoughts swam through his mind- he thought of Fortuna, his work here, Kyrie… The rain soothed his mind as he waited for sleep to take him.

A while later he let out a sigh he reluctantly pulled back the covers and sat upright in his bed. Nero's feet touched the cold floor as he quietly made his way to the kitchen. Sometimes on restless nights he wandered around the house until he was tired enough to go to bed. He left his room and glanced over at Dante's room down the hall- the door was shut. Nero crept down the stairs letting his demonic arm illuminate the way as he entered the kitchen. He poured himself a glass of water and went to the office area. The rain was coming down as steady as ever. Nero looked out the front window and took a gulp from his glass.

It seems like it had been this way since he had arrived here. Nero was always restless, never feeling a hundred percent comfortable. But, he couldn't quite put his finger on it.  
The floorboards let out a tiny squeak and Nero whipped his head around. Dante was at the bottom of the stairs scratching his head. "What gives Nero, it's three in the morning?" questioned Dante as a yawn escaped him.

Nero turned back to face the window. "Sorry, I couldn't sleep," responded Nero watching the rain trickle down the glass.

Dante stepped a little closer to him. "You've been like this for a while now, what's up kid?" Apparently Dante had been aware of when Nero thought he was awake and alone all those nights. Nero turned back to Dante and set his glass on the coffee table before resting on the old leather sofa.

"Nah, I don't know why I do this," began Nero trying to explain things," since I came from Fortuna I've been restless and uneasy I guess." It was kind of strange talking with Dante like this- the old man never seemed interested unless it was about poking at him and giving him a hard time.

Dante sat at his usual office chair and threw his bare feet onto the desk in front of him. "Well kid, apparently something is heavy on your mind- something you need to figure out." Dante looked out the window. Thoughts flashed before him- he had had his share of restless nights.

Nero considered this and shook his head. "Yeah I guess. What kinds of things keep you up at night," questioned Nero with genuine curiosity. He leaned forward a little more on the sofa interested in what the mighty demon slayer Dante worried about.

Dante thought of the many turmoils and obstacles in his life and gave a smile. "Oh no kid, I'm not about to have a heart-felt girl talk with you tonight." Nero's face fell at hearing this- dang. "It's too late and I'm too tired to get into that skeleton closet." Dante smiled and stood up. He headed for the stairs with a loud yawn. He paused for a second before ascending the steps. "Hey Nero, get to bed soon okay." Without ever looking Nero's way Dante left the room.

Nero leaned back on the old sofa. "He never calls me Nero…"  
________________________________________  
The next morning started around 9 am for Nero, he had decided to sleep in a little due to last night's midnight roaming. He took off the white t-shirt that he had slept in and threw on a clean black one and a pair of old jeans.

Once downstairs Nero headed for the coffee ready to pour a big glass, a morning tradition that he relished. He grabbed a mug and poured the steaming liquid into the cup and headed for the main office. Surprisingly Dante was already awake. "What gives old man, why are you up before noon," questioned Nero as he resumed his usual seat on the sofa.

Dante set down the morning paper that he had been looking at. "Trish is coming in today and I thought it would be nice to not make her wait around a few hours until I woke up." He gave a smirk.  
"Mmm hmm," thought Nero,"I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that you don't want to look like a lazy-ass….which you are." He simply sipped his coffee and nodded.

After his morning coffee and morning dose of Dante Nero pondered what he would do today. No jobs scheduled, he didn't really want to go grocery shopping again- so his day was wide open. "Hey Dante, what do you have planned for today," questioned Nero.

The elder slayer set down his paper once again and replied," probably catch up with Trish, or clean my weapons- why, what are you doing?"

"I hadn't really decided- I may go out on the town and find out some more on the demon hunter," said the younger slayer. He barely knew anything about the guy, so in order to prepare himself he needed to know as much about the "enemy" as possible.

"Okay kid, just be careful alright- stay out of his way," said Dante picking up his paper once again. It comforted Nero slightly that Dante wasn't too concerned about the hunter- maybe his first run-in had been a big misunderstanding. Surely if he explained the situation a little better everything would work out…..maybe.

With his plans set for the day Nero strapped up. He fastened blue rose to his hip, along with Yamato to his back. The sword that Dante had entrusted him gave him great pride and comfort- it was a fitting sword. On his way out Nero slipped on his coat and boots. "Later," called Nero as he shut the door behind him. Dante peered over the paper," be careful…." he said with a warning tone.  
________________________________________  
The young slayer began his quest for more information at the best place in town- the local dinner. Nero deemed is so, partially because his belly was growling. He entered the dinner, a place that Dante loved to frequent and sometimes drag Nero with him.

Nero took a seat and awaited service. A young waitress with bouncy blonde curls came over to him. "Hello sir, erm, may I take your order," the perky blonde questioned.  
"Yeah, I'll take a burger and fries, hold the pickles please," answered Nero as he handed her the menu resting on the table.

"Tee-hee, thank you sir, I'll put your order in right away," she giggled and scurried away. Nero didn't bother worrying about her school-girl antics; he had other things to attend to. He peered around the restaurant- not too many people in there. It was about ten thirty in the morning, still a little early for the lunch crowd. There were a couple of old guys sitting at the bar drinking coffee, and a couple in their forties sharing a basket of fries. There certainly didn't seem to be anyone who would know anything about a demon hunter.

A while later the girl brought out Nero's food and a refill for his drink. He said a little "thank you" before eagerly devouring his food. That's something that he and Dante shared, they could certainly put away some food. Throughout his meal Nero had day-dreamed and thought about a lot. He occasionally checked his phone- nothing new.

The young girl came back to his table and had a grumpy look on her face. "Here you go sir," the waitress said as she slammed a sundae down on the table for him. Nero looked at her like she was crazy.  
"I, uh, didn't order a sundae m'am."

She rolled her eyes. "It's from that guy over in the corner." She pointed to the corner in the other side of the dinner. Nero turned to glance. Immediately his blood ran cold. The man in the corner was dressed in all black- the hunter. He gave Nero a little wave and a devious smile before picking up his drink and taking a long sip.

Nero turned back around. "Thank you." He sat there staring at the sundae as the waitress left in a huff. Silently he pondered his next move- how was he going to get out of this?


	5. Chapter 5

Nero sat still at the table unsure of what he should do. His hand clenched and relax. A cold sweat had formed on his brow and his pulse had picked up. To think that a man could evoke such a fear in him was insane- but something about the man almost scared Nero.

The young slayer slid the sundae away from in front of him to the other side of the table. He thought about his situation for a second and concluded that as long as he was in the restaurant the man wouldn't make a move against him- right? There were too many "innocent" people there that could end up in their quarrel- that's what he assumed the hunter was thinking.

He took out his cell phone and punched in a few numbers, it was worth a shot. The phone rang, once, twice- until the automated voice message greeted Nero.

"Dammit Dante, what's the point in having a phone if you're not going to answer it," mumbled Nero under his breath. His pulse was still high as his tension and anxiety only grew. He knew that the hunter had his eyes on him like a hawk, awaiting Nero's move- the ball was in his court.

Once again Nero flipped open his phone and texted Dante. "Get your ass over to the dinner it's urgent!" Of course if Dante wasn't answering his phone it probably meant that he didn't have it on him. He wasn't sure when the older slayer would receive the message. With utter frustration he closed his phone with a loud snap, so much for counting on Dante.

Nero closed his eyes for a second and allowed himself to catch his breath. How was he going to deal with the situation? He could go over and talk to the man, maybe explain a few things. Or perhaps he should just book it out of the area and not look back. Immediately ignoring that idea, he decided that he needed to confront the man head-on; and what better place than here at the dinner? At least here couldn't put a bullet in him and would be forced to listen. Nero had never been a coward before, and he sure as Hell wasn't starting now!

Deciding that this was the best course of action Nero slapped a wrinkled twenty on the table and stood up. He turned to head to the man in the corner, only to find it vacant. He blinked and cautiously peered around the restaurant hoping to see the black-clad madman that had a warrant out for his head. Alas, the man was nowhere to be found.

"Come on man, you buy me a sundae then jet out," began Nero as he was both let-down and sort of relieved," at least give me your number."

Nero slipped out of the booth still observing his surroundings. His boots kept a steady hard rhythm as he walked towards the front door of the restaurant. He shrugged off the encounter and decided that he should return to Devil May Cry and tell Dante to answer his phone every now and then.

The entrance door gave a soft "jingle" as Nero stepped outside. He immediately looked to his left and right to see if the hunter was waiting for him outside. There were only a few pedestrians meandering about on the sidewalk going about their business. He let out a breath and felt his chest loosen a bit.

________________________________________  
Nero headed back to the office, again making sure not to go directly there- he decided to make a slight detour. The only problem was that the neighborhood that the office was in was not very populated- it was in a more rugged and run-down part of town. Dante liked to think that it was full of character and made him a bad-ass; truth was the property had been cheap…like Dante.

A few blocks away the young slayer stuck his hand in his pocket and retrieved his phone, still nothing from Dante. After closing the device and slipping it back in his pocket Nero looked up at the cloudy sky.

"How did you like your sundae boy," came a cold voice from behind Nero. He instantly turned on his heels and had blue rose grasped tightly in his hand. The hunter stepped out from an alley and tilted his hat to give himself a better view of the part-demon.

"What the Hell do you want," questioned Nero as his anger was beginning to flare up. He had had it with this guy. He could either stop and talk with Nero or be on his merry way and leave him the hell alone. Nero flexed the rough talons on his right hand and prepared for the worst- he had no idea what to expect from this guy after what he did the last time.

The hunter poised himself in a threatening stance, with a pistol in one hand and his machete in the other. Nero took note of the blade and remembered the caution that Lady had spouted off.  
"I'm here for your life…" trailed off the hunter with malice in his voice. He didn't look like he wanted to talk, but for both of their sakes Nero had to try.

"Listen dude, I told you I mean you no harm," he had taken a defensive position to encourage understanding between the two;" I don't know what I did to you but lay off!" The man refused to waiver, he wanted Nero's life and it seemed nothing would change his ideal.

"And I've already told you, you're a demon and it's my work to eradicate all demons- and there's no way that you are convincing me otherwise." The man was serious. It made some sense to Nero though- how many demons had he and Dante killed that had begged for their lives claiming that they were different. Nero had been naïve in the beginning, against Dante's better judgment and pleaded to spare the demons. The demons always after being spared waited for the pair to turn their backs so they could make waste of the two slayers. In the end, as Dante said, the only good demon was a dead one. But then what about him and Dante- even Trish.

Nero didn't have time to ponder the mysteries of life at the moment- he would worry about what was right and wrong when he didn't have a pistol pointed at his face. It seemed that a duel was inevitable. As much as Nero didn't want to do it if the man was going to threaten his life then you can bet that he was going to protect himself- whatever the cost.

Awaiting the hunter's move Nero slipped his foot back into a readied stance. A battle was about to happen, and it seemed that one of them wasn't going to leave it alive. He dreaded the thought of killing a man, but what choice did he have? The hunter followed suit and paced towards Nero, closing the gap between the two for a close combat attack. Nero held his breath and stared deeply at the other man trying to predict his actions. In a split-second the hunter went from a slow walk to a sprint in Nero's direction.

Nero fired two shots out of blue rose; both were blocked by the hunter blade. The man was unwavering in his attempt to close the gap between the two combatants. The younger hunter flexed his demonic arm and ran forward to meet the enemy. The hunter raised high and came down hard towards Nero with his blue hued blade. Nero met the blade with Yamato. The blades cried out together as steel met steel, the vibrations lasted long after the weapons met.

It surprised Nero at how much force the man had behind his weapon, he truly meant to kill him. The pair split and allowed a gap to form. The hunter fired a few rounds which Nero anticipated and dodged. Ready to end the fight Nero holstered blue rose and ran at the black hunter with Yamato ready to kill. The blade leaked an energy into him, giving him the determination to end it. Nero raised his weapon and struck at the hunter who dodged the strike. Nero's devil bringer and his blade were outstretched and quickly attacked by the enemy's blade.

A slight sting ran up Nero's arm as he slowly realized that the man's blade had met with his devil bringer. What really surprised the youth was that the blade had cut his arm. Never before had anything ever penetrated the thick scales of his armored arm. The sudden shock of the strike caused Nero to lose his grip on Yamato; the sword fell to the ground next to the dark hunter.  
Still surprised by the attack Nero jumped back. The hunter stood directly above Yamato now guarding the sacred blade.

"Dammit," grumbled Nero as he held his devil arm. The cut itself was small, but the shock and unfamiliar feeling of the strike was odd to Nero. He immediately cleared his head and prepared for the next attack- he would have to defend himself with only his firearm and devil bringer. Losing his grip on Yamato was going to cost him.

The hunter came at him once again, this time Nero tried to avoid close combat and retrieved blue rose from his hip once again. He fired four more rounds at the hunter. The shots rang out and he was surprised when his last bullet hit its mark. The dark hunter had been hit in the leg and fell to the ground. Nero still anticipated a fight and readied his pistol. Damn, it was out of bullets though. Nero went to reload the pistol then looked over at the fallen enemy.

The black-clad man was lying on the ground clutching his leg, a sharp gasp left his lips as his hands neared the wound. A feeling of pity swept over Nero. The man was vulnerable, an easy target for Nero's demonic arm to quickly finish off. He struggled a moment with himself. Here was a man who wanted Nero dead and if he had been in the other hunter's position would no-doubt be dead by now. His enemy wouldn't show him compassion, so why should he?

Nero rolled his eyes. "Hey, will you listen to me now man," questioned Nero. The man still laid on the ground appearing to be in a lot of pain. Nero took a step closer. "Hey?"

The hunter turned on him like a cobra and struck out. His machete had been lying next to him, and within a few seconds was off the ground and stuck in Nero's side. The hunter's face had been cleared of all pain and hurt, he now had a smirk plastered on his face. The blade had pierced Nero's side and was beginning to bleed.

In an instant it dawned on Nero that the man had played on his sympathy- probably allowing himself to be shot so that Nero would be drawn in close.

The younger hunter swept his clawed arm out and tore at the man's arm holding the blade. This time a true cry left the dark hunter- a pained one. Nero was so shocked at what just happened. He immediately withdrew the blade and ran over to retrieve Yamato. The two wounded enemies neglected their prey while they attended to their own worries. The dark hunter clutched his wounded hand tight- the claws had dug in deep and torn most of his flesh from his hand. Meanwhile, Nero had grabbed his sword and without a backwards glance took off away from the battle.

Nero remembered what Lady had said about the hunter's weapon- it was made to inflict great damage upon a demon and keep it from healing. He could already tell that it was true. The wound on his side was deep and bleeding profusely. If it wasn't going to start healing then there was no way that he could last another round of battle- he needed help.

________________________________________  
Stumbling away from the battle Nero still had a ways to go before he made it back to the office. He assumed that the hunter was still dealing with his own injuries, which gave Nero time to flee. Nero had felt his talons rip the skin from his hand, a sickening feeling. Blood and skin were still stuck under his claws.

After a few minutes of running Nero's breath became labored, he stalled to a weak walk. Nero's human hand was pressed firmly over the stab wound in his side. Thick blood oozed out from between his fingers, it was sticky and thick. The red trailed down his shirt and jeans, staining the materials.

Nero's vision became blurry and he realized that he was becoming more and more weak every second. He collapsed in a deserted alley- taking a moment to catch his breath. He had to take a deep breath and think rationally if he wanted to get out of this. He pulled out his phone once again and dialed Dante. The voicemail answered once again and the young slayer let his phone drop to the ground.


	6. Chapter 6

Nero clutched his aching side tighter hoping to slow some of the profuse bleeding. It had taken only a few minutes for Nero to realize that his healing had indeed been stopped. Even the cut on his devil arm had refused to heal, a cut also inflicted by the other hunter's weapon.

Everything seemed to hurt. His clothes were soaked; the overwhelming smell of blood was everywhere. He didn't know how much longer he could stay there like that. Reluctantly with what little strength he had Nero leaned forward and attempted to stand again. He needed to get back to the office or he feared he would pass out in the alley and not wake up. Nero raised himself up. His strength faltered and he fell; barely catching himself before he face-planted into the pavement. It was miserable being in such a weak and vulnerable state.

The area had been quiet; he was the only person around on this side of the neighborhood. Laying there with his hands supporting his weight Nero heard faint footsteps growing louder. The rhythmic sound was coming closer and closer. Shutting his eyes for a moment not ready for what he thought was approaching he tried standing once again.

The footsteps were very close now; except instead of the deep thud of boots that he was expecting he listened more closely and realized that it was a set of heels clicking. Nero raised himself shakily and leaned against the wall. Perhaps it was a normal citizen? He remained calm and still as the heels rounded the corner.

Nero was standing face to face with the blonde bombshell Trish. She was clad in a leather ensemble including a biker jacket and some tight pants. Nero's eyes widened as he realized who it was, his heart eased a bit. Of all the people it could have been Nero was very fortunate that it had been her. At seeing Trish he slid down the wall feeling the last of his strength begin to wane.  
Trish hurried to his side and laid a hand on Nero's shoulder.

"Nero- what happened?" Trish questioned the teen, removing her sunglasses to reveal a worried expression.

Nero had shut his eyes once again and let a pained hissed escape as he settled back onto the ground. Trish's hand on his shoulder was hardly comforting. He took a moment then peered up at the older woman before answering.

"This guy- this hunter stabbed me…." He trailed off. All the words and answers were swimming in his head but it seemed like so much work to say them. He felt like he had been awake for days and was suddenly exhausted. His muscles began to relax.

"Nero, stay with me okay," Trish kneeled down lower to his level," We need to get back to Devil May Cry." A new tension had risen in her voice. Seeing Nero like this was a complete shock to her.  
The young slayer caught bits and pieces of what was being said to him. Everything was becoming so foggy and sluggish. Trish's face came in and out of focus. He felt an arm snake around his waist, and his left arm was settled on top of Trish's shoulders. She attempted to stand but Nero remained sitting.

Nero's eyes fluttered closed as he barely heard Trish speaking to him again.

"Stay awake…..get to the office…..Nero…"  
________________________________________  
"I can't believe that she stood me up," exclaimed Dante. He had a sour look on his face and was glancing over at Lady. The pair were holding pool sticks and in the middle of a heated game.  
The female demon hunter gave him a coy smile before bending over to line up her next shot. Dante casually leaned back and tried to catch a glance at her backside. Lady closed one eye and slid the pool stick between her fingers finding her groove before letting it go. With a loud clack the white ball danced across the table before hitting its target. The ball gingerly landed in the pocket with ease.

"Well I can, do you know how many times she has complained to me that you always keep her waiting," began Lady feeling no sympathy," saying your excuse is that you need your beauty sleep."

With a defeated look Dante let out a sigh. Okay, maybe he had kept her waiting a few times, but come on was he expected to be there are everyone's beck and call?

"Well, today was going to be different. I woke up early to greet her- a nice change of pace I thought." Dante glanced at the pool table before setting his stick down on his desk- he was clearly beaten. "But oh no, the one time I go out of my way to be nice she goes and proves to me that no good deed goes unpunished."

Lady rolled her eyes and followed suit by also setting her stick down. She felt a confidence knowing that she had bested the son of Sparda- again.

"Dante- always whining and never happy, grow a pair," said Lady coolly as she stepped into the kitchen for a drink. He watched as she swayed her hips in passing. She disappeared from sight and the white-haired hunter sat at his desk- again defeated.

Lady emerged from the kitchen with two blue moon beers. She popped the tops and handed Dante one. She took a long sip from hers and sat on the corner of his desk; her usual spot.  
"You know, the only way to enjoy these is with an orange slice babe?" Dante grinned at her, happy that he got even a small jab in at her. Regardless he picked up his beer and gestured in her direction. "Cheers."  
________________________________________  
The next moment the front doors burst open with Trish and Nero standing in the doorway. Immediately the two hunters inside had their weapons drawn. Dante was sporting Ebony and Ivory, he had in a flash drawn them and was standing there pointing them at the two intruders. Whereas Lady had a pistol that she kept concealed on her upper thigh loaded and ready to fire.

Dante's expression changed from one of intensity to shock. There in Trish's arms was Nero, unconscious and bloodied. A rush of thoughts swam through Dante's mind at realizing what he was in fact looking at. The kid looked so slump and lifeless there in her arms.

"Oh shit, what happened," questioned a panicked Lady who immediately holstered her pistol and ran over to where Trish and Nero were. She reached out her hand, but suddenly didn't know what to do or say. Nero looked badly hurt. Dante simply stood where he was, still trying to comprehend what was going on.

Trish walked over to the pool table and laid Nero on the surface. He had fallen unconscious in the time it had taken for the duo to get the office. Lady had a look of horror on her face. She turned to Dante who remained where he was, simply looking at the situation.

"Dante, get your ass over here and help," shouted Lady. Trish had run off to the other room to grab some essentials: bandages, alcohol, etc.

Dante's attention snapped and he hurried over to the scene. Lady's hands were rushing over Nero trying to assess the damage done. Following the blood and seeing where it had come from she soon realized that his side had a large stab wound. The elder slayer was unsure of what he needed to do so he allowed Lady to take control.

Trish hurriedly returned with some medical supplies. The blonde set the bandages and assorted equipment on the pool table beside the unconscious boy. Dante did what he could and began to open up the packets of bandages and container of antiseptic.

"Trish what happened," questioned Lady who was now taking off Nero's boots. The two women gently removed Nero's outer jacket and with greater care his t-shirt. The young slayer let out a low groan as his shirt touched the wound on his side. Hearing even this small noise from the boy made Lady and Dante ease a bit.

"I'm not entirely sure," Trish began trying to piece together what little information she had. "I heard someone fire a couple of rounds in the distance so I went to investigate. When I got to the scene the combatants had fled. There was, however, a trail of blood leaving the scene." Trish and Lady continued working while Dante awaited any orders. He stared at the two women as they removed Nero's dirtied tops- still lying there unmoving. "The trail led me to a back alley where, when I rounded a corner I met Nero looking like this. He passed out on the way over here…."

Nero lay on the table bare-chested with his wound still slowly bleeding.

"Why isn't his wound closing," questioned Dante with a serious look. It baffled him that the kid's demonic healing hadn't kicked in. "I don't think I've ever seen the kid this hurt before."  
After a moment of silence Lady piped in, "it must be that hunter that Nero was talking about. Nero mentioned that he had a demon hunting weapon. It must have been the weapon used to wound him and stop his healing."

"We can discuss this later guys, we need to focus!" Trish stared at the boy on the table who looked like he was getting paler and paler every minute. She then grabbed a pack of bandages and applied pressure to Nero's large wound. Blood immediately begin to soak into the cloth. "But, to be honest I don't know much about treating wounds. It's not something that I have ever had to deal with." Trish looked at Dante who agreed with a simple nod.

It was true, both Dante and Trish were demons and had never had to know how to treat a life-threatening wound. They had demonic healing and could always rely on that to solve any major problems or injuries.

"I'll do it!" Lady looked intently at Nero. "I guess you two don't have much knowledge in human injuries. I've spent countless nights bandaging myself up after fighting demons and such. I can try my hand at closing up his injury."

Trish turned over charge of Nero to the human hunter. Lady took control of the cloth on Nero's wound- continuing to apply pressure as Trish had.

"Okay, he may wake up as I'm stitching this close so you two may need to hold him for me." Trish and Dante nodded and prepared to hold him down. Lady opened up the medical kit that Trish had produced earlier- inside were lots of tools that would surely help.  
Lady held up a large needle. "Okay, here we go…"


	7. Chapter 7

For a moment the room was deathly quiet. Lady was breathing heavily, as her anxiety was growing. Lady had previously cleaned the stab wound and was left with a clean and disinfected area. She still clutched the needle in her hand, and had looped a thread through the end which would be used to stitch Nero's wound. After taking another deep breath Lady grabbed a pair of hemostats to control the needle and leaned over Nero.

"Remember to keep a firm hold on him, I don't know how he will react and I don't want him moving and injuring himself further."

The needle carefully penetrated the teen's smooth skin. Nero's breathing was still ragged, but he made no movement at the initial prick. Lady still had to try and work swiftly because the wound was still slightly bleeding.

Trish and Dante stared intently at the two, being very still.

As the stitching progressed Nero began to move a little and become more restless. Small groans escaped his lips as the needle stitched his skin together. He was beginning to feel some of the pain. Lady halted for a moment and used gauze to wipe some of the blood away to gain a better view of the area.

This time as the needle punctured Nero he squirmed a little. His body instinctively moved away from the needle and his face contorted in more pain. Trish had a hold on the boy's legs, making sure they were firmly planted; while Dante was holding down Nero's upper body.

It was a little sad at how easy it was to hold down the boy, Dante thought. Nero was truly hurt, and his strength was only a fraction of what he was used to. There was a time where he had seen Nero be so angry that he punched a hole in the wall with ease. He was sure that if he had been at full strength it would have been an actual challenge to restrain him. But now, the snowy haired boy lay on the table weak and obviously pained.

Lady gave a firm tug on the thread crisscrossed over the boy's wound and he gave a loud hiss. It appeared that Nero was drifting in and out of a half-conscious state. It was for the best though. It would have been torturous for him to be awake and un-sedated dealing with a needle piercing his skin again and again.

Another stroke of luck was that the hunter's blade hadn't pierced through to Nero's other side. While the blade had made a painful cut, it wasn't as deep as it looked. Also, to Lady's knowledge, no internal organs had been damaged- Nero only suffered from heavy blood loss.

________________________________________  
Finally the last stitch was made and Lady set down her surgical tools. She gently wiped some sweat from her brow and exhaled slowly. She dabbed a small glob of ointment on the area and placed a bandage to cover the wound and keep it clean.

"I've closed the wound." Lady began; explaining the situation. "So now we just have to let him heal." Even though Nero's demonic healing had been slowed, his body was still able to heal- just at a significantly slower rate. "There's also another cut on his devil bringer, but it's so shallow that I don't think it needs stitching." She examined his arm again. Nero's devil bringer was glowing a faint blue, dimmer that its normal intensity. "It's amazing that the hunter's weapon could pierce this armor…"

"So…is he going to be okay," questioned Dante. His brow was furrowed, and his face stern. He continued to look at Lady anxiously awaiting her reply.

"…Well, he lost a lot of blood- but he's been fairly stable so far." Lady looked over at Dante and gave a half-smile to comfort him. "All we can do is wait though. Despite being hurt with a demon hunter's weapon his body can still heal itself. We will need to keep a close eye on him though."

Dante nodded while Trish began helping Lady put away the equipment and clean the area. The group was being unusually quiet and reserved- it fit given the circumstances. Such Earth-shattering moments made people take a step back and think more- they were no exception.

Dante peered down at Nero. The boy still laid on the pool table, with blood stains on his faded jeans. His face was more peaceful now compared to the pained looks that he had been sporting earlier; also his breathing had evened out. Things could have been worse- the teen could still be bleeding to death in the alley or already dead. He swallowed and noted how dry his mouth had become.

Lady looked at the two, and then nudged Trish. Dante had been staring at Nero's motionless body since Lady had finished stitching him up. The two women nodded at one another then left the room to return the tools to where Trish had scavenged them from. They crept from the room and allowed Dante a moment.

The elder hunter balled his hands into fists then unclenched them in a rhythmic manner. Seeing the kid in his condition was hard. There was a small amount of blood pooled on the table near Nero's closed wound.  
Dante gently picked Nero up bridal style and carefully carried him up the stairs. He felt light and breakable in his arms, like he was going to crumble at any moment. Step by step the two made their way towards Nero's room.

The older slayer nudged open the bedroom door with his boot before gently laying Nero on the bed. He fetched some of the boy's clothes and dressed him in something clean and warm. Being careful to not disturb him too much Dante pulled the covers to his chin and propped a pillow behind his head.

Dante sat at the foot of the bed and watched Nero sleep. He glanced around the room and noticed that it was fairly tidy- a trait not usually in someone of his age. There were a couple of CD's on the ground, but overall it was neat and organized.

"You know, you scared the Hell out of me Nero…" Dante murmured. He looked from the boy's face to the window at the setting sun. An orange glow was sweeping over the city. This time in the evening was calming, like the town was settling down for the day. "Maybe I should have taken this "hunter" more seriously…but shit, if you were in so much trouble you should have found me!"

A stern look was on Dante's face. He had so much swimming through his mind. What kind of hunter must this guy be to hurt Nero like he had? What if Trish hadn't found him and brought him back to the office….? He shook his head, not allowing himself to think such things.

"You know, whether you like it or not you're my responsibility now. I told you that I would take care of you when you came here…..okay maybe not, but you knew right?" He sighed. "Listen to me babble on, just get some rest kid." Dante gave Nero a pat on the shoulder before heading out of the room. He slowly closed the door, just enough where the group could still peek in on him.

As Dante walked away, Nero's eyes cracked open a little. The door was slowly shut, and he gave a faint grin as the elder hunter's boots grew softer.

________________________________________  
Lady walked up the stairs to meet Dante.  
"I'll take the first shift watching him, why don't you go downstairs and relax with Trish okay?" She offered him a weak smile and slipped into Nero's room quietly.

Downstairs Trish had a beer in her hand and was resting on the couch. The blonde's eyes followed Dante as he crossed the room and took his usual seat at the desk. He looked exhausted, both physically and mentally.

Taking a break from the tension Trish poked at Dante. "Guess it's a good thing that I kept you waiting this time. Not too fun waiting around all day for someone to show up is it?"

Dante remained stoic. "I guess so." Trish's smirk fell from her face and realized that he was not into her witty banter right now. A twinge of guilt fell over her as she regretted the notion of trying to cheer him up.

"So, tell me what happened," said Dante wanting to know all the information so he could formulate a plan.

"Like I said, all I know is that I heard gunshots so I went to check it out; there was a trail of blood that I followed. The blood led me to an ally where I ran into Nero." She took a long drink from her beer and closed her eyes for a moment. "I never saw anyone else, so I can't say for sure who did it."

Dante pondered this for a moment before replying. "It has to be the hunter that Nero mentioned the other day. He said something about the guy wanting to kill him because he was a demon. Maybe I should have listened, especially since he came home with a bullet in his leg." The elder slayer leaned back in his chair and thought back to the events. "But, the kid comes back to the office scraped and banged up all the time- its part of the job."

"But this time it appears he was attacked with a demon hunter's weapon, that's pretty serious Dante."

"I know, but I honestly thought that the kid could handle himself. This guy must be serious business. Sounds like something I'll have to handle personally." Dante leaned forward and looked at Trish. There was a strong intent in his blue eyes- he would be out for blood as well.

________________________________________  
Dante trudged back up the stairs a while later to check on Lady and Nero. He opened the door and found her in an old chair next to the bed flipping through one of his old magazines. The kid was still and breathing easily.

Lady glanced up from her reading. "He's doing fine. I checked his pulse and although it's weaker than usual it's nothing to be concerned with. I'm sure you know this, but we were very fortunate that Trish found him and brought him here."

"Yeah." Dante took a few steps closer and inspected Nero again. "I just wish that the kid would have been more careful, or I don't know, maybe realize that he couldn't handle this guy and came for help."  
"We don't really know what happened Dante. We will just have to give Nero some time and let him explain everything to us okay?" She turned once again to her reading.

Dante nodded and left the two once again. He headed down the hall to his own bedroom and closed the door leaving a crack just in case Nero's status changed. He tugged off his boots and coat and sat down on the side of his bed.

A small green light caught his eye. His cell phone, still plugged into the charger, had a notification. The elder hunter flipped open the device and saw multiple missed calls and texts from Nero.  
"….oh shit."


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning the sun shone through the open window and poured bright sunshine on the white-haired boy's face. Nero's eyes flickered open slowly. His eyelids felt heavy, and everything hurt. Taking in shallow breaths pained his aching chest; one deep breath made the teen produce a loud cough. He turned his head over gently to look around his room.

Everything looked like he had left it, except sitting there in the corner was Trish. The leggy blonde was seated in a worn chair and her eyes were closed. Her head hung slightly- she appeared to be sleeping.

Nero began trying to piece together some information. How had he gotten into bed, and why did he hurt so badly? Suddenly images of the events that occurred the day before flashed before him: leaving the office, eating at the diner, the hunter, calling Dante, and running into Trish.

He stirred from his comfortable position. With a groan he straightened himself and sat up. His human hand immediately went to the wound. He lifted his shirt to find that he had been bandaged up. It still hurt, but it was more like a throbbing ache instead of a sharp stinging pain as it had originally been. He pulled his shirt back down and turned his attention back to Trish.

"Hey, Trish," he gave another loud cough as he formed words.

The blonde stirred from her slumber and peered over at Nero. "Oh, you're awake." She gave a smile and stood up. She came and sat on the foot of the bed. The teen looked worn out, and very pale. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Wh-what happened, how did we get back here?" Nero had a puzzled look on his face. He gently squeezed a fistful of blankets and awaited Trish's answer. Everything between seeing the blonde demon in the alley and waking up only moments ago was a blur to him, well almost everything. He remembered bits and pieces of both Lady and Dante's faces. He also recalled Dante speaking, not really at him, just speaking.

"I found you in the alley, and then carried you back here." She was looking at him like he was about to break. Her actions were very cautious, hoping to not startle or surprise the hurt youth in any way. "When we got here Lady patched you up, then Dante carried you upstairs and put you to bed."

The young hunter looked towards the door, finally being able to solidify an accurate account. He looked at Trish.

"Thanks….for finding me…." He looked away as embarrassment flooded him. It was demeaning needing help like that. He should have been able to handle that hunter, but he couldn't. If Trish hadn't found him, he'd probably be dead.

The blonde gave a warm smile and slowly stood once more.

"I need to tell the others that you are awake. Lady needs to check your bandages, and Dante wanted to know the moment that you woke up." She turned on her heels and left the room to notify the other two hunters.

Nero waited for her to leave the room then moved the covers back. He slowly lifted his legs from off the bed onto the cold floor. With a groan he tried lifting himself out of bed; his muscles shook a little from the effort. His body gave out suddenly as he fell back onto the soft mattress.

"Damn, guess that fight really took a toll on me." He allowed his head to rest back on the pillow.

________________________________________  
Trish gave a slight knock on Dante's door that was already slightly ajar. She didn't hear a reply so she pushed open the bedroom door with ease. Inside it was dark, the lights were all off. Lying there on the bed was Dante passed out. He was still wearing his clothes from the day before, minus his boots and coat.

Compared to Nero's room Dante's room was a mess. It was decorated more or less like a bachelor pad, with curtains that were too short, a dark bedspread accompanied with miss-matched pillows, and piles of assumed dirty clothes. It did however have the thick scent of Dante's cologne. That's one thing she had to hand to him; he always smelled nice.

Trish crept closer to the bed and clicked on the bedside table lamp. A soft light flooded the room, simply exposing more mess.  
"Hey Dante, wake up."

He replied by rolling over and swatting a hand in her direction. He was definitely not a morning person. Dante grabbed an abandoned pillow next to himself and hugged it.  
She gave him a shove. "Wake up Dante, Nero is awake."

Immediately after the words were uttered Dante shot out of bed with vigor that Trish had not seen before. Her eyes went wide for a moment as seeing the sudden movement from the passed out man. His eyes were still trying to focus as he pushed past her to visit the teen.

The blonde hunter gave a smile. "I knew that would get you out of bed. I'm going to go wake Lady up and make some coffee- I think you need it." She started down the stairs.

Dante walked down the hall towards Nero's room and gently opened the door. Inside Nero was lying back on his pillow with his eyes closed. Upon the elder slayer entering the room the teen opened his eyes and cracked a grin.

"Hey kid, how are ya feeling?" Dante took a seat in the chair that everyone had been occupying while watching over Nero. The chair gave a low squeak as he settled in.

"I feel like shit actually." He gave a small chuckle then immediately his hand gripped his side. Laughing hurt, he had to make sure not to do that for a while.

'Well, Lady has you all fixed up now, and you should be fine." Dante searched the boy's face. He was his usual care-free self it seemed. It was like he didn't care that he had had a close brush with death only yesterday.

"Trish said that you carried me upstairs and tucked me in, hope you read me a good story." He gave another laugh and winced as he held his side again. Afterwards he glanced at Dante who wasn't laughing. The man's eyes were downcast and saddened somehow.

"Hey, I didn't mean to joke about it- I really do appreciate it-….." Nero was cut off by Dante who immediately interjected.

"I should have answered my phone…" Nero looked puzzled for a moment, and then remembered that he had tried to contact the older slayer. "If I had, then you wouldn't be hurt now Nero."

Dante still avoided Nero's gaze. The teen looked at Dante for a moment. "It's fine, I should have been able to handle myself. It's my own damn fault for getting my ass kicked- although I did leave him with a little parting gift." Nero flexed his talons which held no remains from the fight- they had obviously been cleaned.

A moment of silence filled the room before Lady burst through the door. "Okay, you're done harassing my patient now Dante!" Lady walked over to a startled Nero, she was carrying a few supplies with her.

"Okay Nero, shirt off." He obliged by slowly removing his top to reveal the bandaged area. She sat the supplies on the bed in Nero's lap. Her hand pressed against his chest softly signaling him to lie back. He rested himself on the propped-up pillow and allowed his tense muscles to relax. She carefully removed the bandages to reveal the stitched wound. He winced slightly as the sticky residue pulled at the area.

"Looks pretty good," said Lady as she reached over to grab a disinfecting wipe.

"Good? It looks terrible!" Nero looked over at Lady curiously. It hurt like Hell and was inflamed and painful.

"Well to you it looks terrible, because you're used to quickly healing. To me, someone who has seen plenty of human injuries, this looks like it will heal nicely."

"If you say so…" He relaxed once more and allowed Lady to rub the wipe over the wound making sure that it was clean. She then continued to re-dress the wound and wrap it back up tightly.  
Afterwards she checked Nero's devil bringer. The incision was also slowly healing, but it looked fine. Lady then reached into a pouch that was perched on the bed. From it she pulled a green gem.

"Here, I brought you a vital star; this should speed up the recovery process and dull the pain some." She had small bowl with a pestle that she used to grind up the object into a fine powder. The female hunter poured the powdery substance into a glass of water that had been resting on Nero's bedside table. She then added a small white tablet that began to fizzle.

Nero took the glass and stared at the murky contents, wondering slightly about the tablet.

"It's to help with the pain," explained Lady.

With a small shrug he took a few big gulps. The gritty and bubbly drink tasted like chalk.

"Oh damn, that is more disgusting than I remember!" He had a sour look on his face. He held his nose as he forced down the rest of the drink.

"You should be grateful; we usually don't have time to pulverize them in a battle and have to crunch away at it with our teeth," said Dante finally allowing a smile to crack his face. Knowing that the kid was going to be okay lifted a heavy weight off of his shoulders.

Nero rolled his eyes and set the empty glass back on the bedside table. He felt the effects a moment later; the dull ache on his side began to fade away. He didn't feel healed, but he felt a Hell of a lot better. Lady collected her things and pulled the cover back up over Nero.

"I want you to stay in bed okay?" She had a stern and motherly look on her face. Nero let out a heavy sigh.

"What am I supposed to do all day?" He didn't like the thought of being bed-ridden until he was healed. "I'll go crazy if I sit here all day. Plus, that vital star really helped." He waited as Lady rolled her eyes and pondered this.

"Fine, you can get out of bed, but only for a bit. You still need your rest." She turned to exit the room and leave the two white-haired men alone once again. "But please Nero, take it easy," she offered before heading for the stairs.

"I'm going to go get some coffee then I'll be back." Dante stood to leave. Nero nodded and pulled the covers up higher to meet his chest.  
"Don't worry, I'll be down there later….I just want to….rest my eyes for….a moment." With that Nero drifted off into a deep slumber.

________________________________________  
Dante joined the group downstairs in the kitchen; the two women were talking over coffee. They turned to eye Dante as he stepped into the room.

"Is the kid out yet?" Lady grinned already knowing the answer. She smiled smugly as her long fingers wrapped around her mug and she took a long sip of her coffee.

"Hehe, yeah, that was pretty sneaky slipping him a sedative." He followed suit and poured himself a cup of coffee. Good thing the kid was kind of naïve or else he wouldn't have fallen for it.  
"Well, he needed to rest some more and he's like you- stubborn. I had to keep him down somehow."

Trish spoke up and interjected herself into the conversation. "Well, now that that's taken care of….what are we going to do about this hunter?" The three eyed each other letting the new tension fill the atmosphere.


	9. Chapter 9

Dante looked down at his steaming cup of coffee. Black liquid swirled around inside, resembling the emotions that he had been feeling lately. He knew that the two women were waiting for him to speak; it was his place to pass "judgment" on the hunter as he was Nero's caretaker and partner.

"Well, when Nero wakes up again I need to de-brief him and get all the information that I can." Dante glanced over at the two women who gazed back with stern looks. "The last thing we need to do is go into a battle blind; underestimating our opponent is not an option."

Immediately Dante thought back to when Nero had voiced his concerns about the hunter before. The older slayer had been the naïve one then, shrugging off the new demon hunter as a silly threat that Nero could easily handle. He had almost gotten the kid killed with his lack of precaution.

"I think that is unusually wise of you Dante." Trish eyed the half-devil with a smirk. "Let me know what you find out from Nero and I'll do some research of my own." She finished her beverage and deposited the empty mug in the sink. "Until then, I have some business that I need to attend to so let me know okay?" She strode over to the kitchen table and slipped on her silky leather coat and sleek sunglasses. With a subtle flick of her long blonde hair she headed for the door. Lady and Dante gave her a wave as her heels clicked out of the front door.

"I'm guessing that Nero will be out until dinnertime," Lady submitted the information to an anxious looking Dante. "I gave him a light dose because of the blood loss- anything more and he would have been in la-la land for who knows how long."

Dante gave a slight nod of his head in response. It was for the kid's own good- if he weren't out he would surely be up and about getting in the middle of things trying to help.

"Don't be worried, the hunter's weapon's effect won't last too long. His demonic healing should kick in maybe tomorrow, although it'll still be at a slower rate." The brunette recalled all the knowledge and information that she had on the subject." I'd say that he will be fully healed and back to his normal self in about three more days."

The pair exited the kitchen and retreated to the main office area. Dante slumped down into his favorite chair and began to ponder. Lady walked over to the pool table and ran a hand over its surface.  
"I cleaned up the pool table last night after everyone crashed; I figured that it needed to be done before the blood dried up…" The surface of the table had a slight stain on it, but nothing compared to the pool of crimson that was there the day before.

"Thanks Lady, I didn't even think about that." He raked his hand over his face and through his silvery hair. "And thanks for patching the kid up too; I'm glad you were here." He eyed the huntresses' back as she stood still facing away from him and towards the table.

A warm smile spread on Lady's face. She grabbed a ball and slid it across the table, listening to it roll and finally pop into the hole on the adjacent side. Slowly she turned to face the hunter who still had his eyes on her.

"You know, Nero is lucky that he has you Dante." She strode across the room closer and closer to the devil. "He may not say it out loud, but he really looks up to you." Dante let those words sink in as he watched her move in his direction. Her hips swaying ever so slightly as their eyes stayed firmly locked. "You're a good man Dante; don't let this accident upset you so much."

He had been trying to put up a front since Nero's bloodied body had entered Devil May Cry yesterday. He saw death and gore on a daily basis, but when it was the kid it was different. He was someone that, sure annoyed the Hell out of him at times, but had also stayed up late watching 80's movies and eating day-old pizza with him. For over half a year now the two had been housemates and in a lot of ways friends.

Lady rested on the top of the desk in front of Dante. His head was in another place, thinking of the heavy words that Lady had told him. She hadn't meant to, but her words made him feel worse. The kid did look up to him, which was why letting him down made him feel so guilty on the inside.

Dante snapped out of his daze and noticed Lady sitting atop his desk with soft eyes peering at him. It was rare to see these moments with Lady. The usually cold women did in fact have a warm and motherly sentiment to her. It was times like this that Dante felt different. His hand reached out towards her for a moment, and then he withdrew it and stood up.

"I'm going to take a nap- Trish woke me up too damn early this morning." He didn't look back as he headed for the staircase. "Let me know if anything changes." He climbed the stairs leaving Lady still sitting on his desk, alone.

She didn't allow her gaze to follow him, simply look at where the half-devil had once been. "Whatever you want…" replied the brunette softly.

________________________________________  
Dante walked past Nero's room and glanced in. He was passed out and hadn't appeared to have moved a muscle- whatever sedative Lady had slipped the kid had been strong enough. He made sure that he saw Nero's chest rise and fall a few times, just to be sure, before he exited.

He gently pushed the door a little and lazily made his way to his own bedroom. It was unorganized, but one of his favorite places in the world. Dante closed the door to his sanctuary and allowed himself to fall onto the bed and let out a heavy sigh. Lying on his back he laced his hands behind his head and peered at the ceiling.

"Why do I let myself get so worked up," Dante mumbled to himself. He didn't have time for Lady and himself to play games right now- they had more important business to attend to.

They always acted like teens in school who relished picking on each other as a form of affection. On certain days though, the poking fun crossed the line in strange territory. He didn't know his own feelings. The elder hunter closed his eyes and took deep breaths in an attempt to fall asleep.

His mind was again filled with all the worries and burdens that he was forced to shoulder on a day-to-day basis. He felt like there wasn't enough room in his damaged heart to allow anyone else in, whether it be friends or otherwise.

Trying not to harp on things that couldn't be changed he rolled over and clicked off his bedside lamp. If he spent his time thinking about all the wrong he had done, or all the people that he hadn't saved then he would never sleep.

Slowly his consciousness melted away and allowed his weary mind to rest again.

________________________________________  
Lady gave herself a moment on the desk. She carefully touched at the odds and ends on Dante's desk: a pen, empty gum wrapper, an old magazine, and other miscellaneous items.

The moment Dante had withdrawn his hand she regretted it all. She had only ever opened up to a few people in her life before, and it made her feel vulnerable and weak when she did so. But here she had someone that she could let her guard down around, someone that had been by her for many years.

The two had been there for each other during the most trying times of their lives. They both knew things about each other that nobody knew. Despite all this, what did it mean?

Lady rose to her feet and headed back to the kitchen. She was frustrated and did what she did best at times like these-clean. She picked up the used coffee mugs that had contained the group's morning brew and she began scrubbing.

"He can just keep his hands to himself then…" she muttered as she snatched a second mug from the counter and rinsed it off. "Good thing he didn't get the wrong idea." She said the words to convince herself, a silly game.

When the dishes in the kitchen were clean she decided to hang around until dinner time so that she could have a decent meal prepared for Nero when he awoke. Surely Dante wouldn't think that far ahead, or would simply order pizza again.

She scoffed at how simple and clueless Dante was. "Part demon or not, he is still a guy."

________________________________________  
Groggily Nero let his eyes flutter open. It was already dusk, the sun outside of his window was setting and casting an orange glow into the room.

He sat up, it was still a little difficult for him, and gave himself a moment to gather his thoughts. His body felt stiff, probably due to sleeping so deeply. Nero rubbed his neck and let the muscles loosen under his touch.

"Damn, how long was I out this time?" Nero questioned to himself. He was unsure if it was the evening of the same day or the next day. He slept so hard that it felt like days had gone by.

The teen noticed that he was alone in the room which eased him a little. If they weren't keeping a close eye on him anymore then that probably meant he was doing fine. His side still hurt, but he was used to it by now.

Suddenly a thick and hearty scent wafted into his room. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to envelop the aroma whole-heartedly. It smelled like someone was cooking something, and he decided that he needed to investigate.

Slowly Nero lifted the covers and let his legs dangle over the side of the bed. His bare feet touched the cool floor and he steadied himself to stand. Remembering his failure last time, he braced his muscles and took it very slow. With a few wobbles he managed to stand and steady himself.

"Guess I'm not too bad after all." He had a confidence to himself and took a few steps towards the door. He stumbled and almost fell- knocking his ego down a few pegs in the process. After a shaky start he reached the door and continued on to the kitchen.

Lady scrambled about the kitchen with ease, stirring a large pot and occasionally peeping into the oven. She and Nero were the only two who had ever cooked anything in the kitchen, so she knew where everything was.

Despite there being a shortage of food in the kitchen, she had gathered enough goods to make a thick soup and pop some garlic bread into the oven. The area smelled wonderful, and it filled her with pride. Before long she knew that Dante would drag his lazy self downstairs and grab a bowl.

Right on cue she heard slow footsteps coming down the stairs. She rolled her eyes and checked one more time on the bread before reaching in with her mitted hand and retrieving the crunchy garlic goodness.

The second she saw white hair round the corner she threw the warm oven mitt into the intruder's face.

"What's the big deal? Is that any way to treat a wounded person?" Nero was startled upon impact but grabbed the mitt and threw it onto the ground before looking over at Lady.  
"Oh Nero, I'm sorry I thought you were Dante!" she ran over and looked at Nero before picking up the mitt. "How are you feeling?"

Nero hobbled over to the dining table and took a seat. "I'm fine, just really sore and stiff." He rubbed the back of his neck again and rolled his shoulders around.

Lady turned her attention to the soup bubbling in the pot before answering. "Oh…well, you were pretty tired- you're body was pretty worn out I guess." She stirred the mixture and turned off the heat to let it thicken and set.

"I guess so. Speaking of Dante, where is he?"

"Did somebody say my name? My ears were burning from upstairs!" Dante stepped into the kitchen with pep in his step. He had a grin on his face as seeing Lady holding a spoon and stirring something on the stove.

"Speak of the devil…" said Lady grabbing a few bowls from the cabinet and setting the on the counter.

"…and he shall appear," answered Dante as he took a seat next to Nero at the dining table.

Lady poured two bowls of soup along with two pieces of bread and set them on the table. She slid one towards Nero and gave him a smile before taking a seat.  
"Thanks Lady, this looks great." Nero took his spoon and took a sip trying not to burn his tongue.

"Thanks," said Dante as he reached over for the other food on the table. His hand was immediately slapped away by a pissed Lady. She slid the bowl and bread closer to herself and glared at the elder hunter.

"I cooked the damn dinner, so you can carry your lazy ass over to the stove and fix yourself a plate," she yelled at him.

Dante looked over at Nero who gave an innocent smile and a mocking chuckle. He waltzed over to the stove and proceeded to make himself a plate despite his wishes.

"You've been cooking things all day haven't you Lady. You should tell the kid about the special drink you made earlier today." He laughed thinking back to the drink that she had made for Nero that knocked him out. Lady froze for a moment and leered at Dante before casually glancing to Nero.

Nero glanced back and forth between the two obviously missing something. "Whatever." Nero mumbled as he continued with his meal.

The three ate in silence, knowing that after the much needed nourishment there would be a long talk amongst themselves. The showdown with the hunter loomed on the horizon and everyone was nervous about the approaching battle


	10. Chapter 10

As the meal was devoured the silence continued. Whether it was a sign that the meal was good, or that there were problems to be discussed was yet to be decided. A few sips and slurps made their presence known- but aside from that there was a relative peace to the room.

Dante was the first one done and let his spoon fall into his empty bowl with a loud clang.

"Whew, that was some fine eating Lady." He arose from his seat and scooted his chair in to the table," I think you should cook every night for me." As he was about to make his escape Lady shot him another death glare. Already knowing what to do the elder hunter scooped up his empty bowl and deposited it into the sink. He then continued into the main office/living area to no doubt collapse onto his favorite chair.

"Thanks again for dinner Lady, I appreciate it." Nero showed genuine gratitude which Lady took to heart.

"Hey no problem, you needed a home-cooked meal." She took the kid's words with a humble heart and continued on with her meal.

Nero was like Dante in a lot of ways; cocky, arrogant, and totally clueless with women. But, there were a lot of traits that Nero possessed that were very unlike Dante; patience, and at times an almost cold temperament. The female hunter had a soft spot for the kid- it seemed that they all did really.

As Nero stood and began to hobble to the sink Lady swooped in and retrieved his bowl. She pointed to the living area.

"You go on ahead; I'll clean up in here." She took the dishes to the sink and began to clean up the post-dinner mess. "I think that Dante wants a word with you."  
Nero nodded and turned to leave Lady with her cleanup.

________________________________________  
Nero made his way to the couch and eased his tense body onto it. Everything still hurt, and it was such a foreign thing to him. He would never take someone being hurt for granted again. It was easy to brush off someone's injury when the concept of needing time to heal was so strange.

He looked over at Dante who was simply sitting with his feet on the desk and his hands crossed in his lap. Before any words were even spoken the younger slayer tried to gather his thoughts and piece together what he was going to say.

It felt somehow shameful to admit such defeat; especially to someone like Dante. He was suppose to be strong, admitting defeat was like admitting he was still a kid and needed someone to look after him.

"So kid, let's hear it. I want hear all the details about this mysterious hunter." He had a seriousness in his eyes, in contrast to the usual smug playfulness. Dante meant business.

Nero began the story, explaining his outing only yesterday morning even though it felt like an eternity ago. He rubbed his hands together anxiously as he told Dante about going to the dinner and the other hunter being there.

"He waited until we were outside to attack me. I tried talking to him again, but obviously I had no luck with that." He ran a hand through his messy white hair as he recalled other details that happened yesterday.

"I shot the hunter, but he was only playing me. I moved closer to the guy, and then he turned and stabbed me…" He hadn't stopped to think about the events that had happened, and talking about them now felt surreal. "I did get his arm pretty good with my devil bringer though." He held up the demonic arm and studied it for a brief moment before looking to Dante.

"So you don't know who the guy is; you've never seen him before like in Fortuna or something?" Dante was trying to piece everything together and make sense of the situation.  
"No, I've never met the guy before, just the time when he shot me that I told you about before."

Immediately Dante heard the words and felt the same disappointment in himself that he had felt before. Nero had warned him, and he had refused to heed his words- simply brushing the kid off like he was over-reacting.

Sensing a shift in the room Nero spoke again, "Hey, Dante, it's my fault- all of it. If I had been stronger I could have taken care of myself and not had to be picked up off the street like some-"

"Ah, give it a rest kid. You took on a full-fledged demon hunter armed with some heavy shit, don't beat yourself up." Nero had his head hung over looking at the floor. "If anyone's at fault it's me…" Dante looked down at his hands feeling his stomach tighten with tension.

Dante closed his eyes, hating having to admit something like that- but also hating that he had let it even happen. The teen looked over at Dante and realized what was happening. The two were being hard on themselves and blaming their own actions for what happened. It was neither one's fault.

"Aww, come on boys, buck up." Lady had obviously been listening in from the kitchen. She needed all the information too, but had still allowed the pair a moment of privacy before they got the rest of the story.

The brunette approached the pool table and leaned back. "Okay, now that the blame game is over, let's hear the rest of the story Nero."

________________________________________  
Nero told the rest of the story, not sparing any gory detail for the two older slayers.

After it was all said and done the three thought together to formulate a plan. They had to catch the hunter, or get rid of him without hurting him.

"Maybe we can lure him out of the city somehow," Lady voiced her plan aloud. "Send him on a mission somewhere else to slay some demons maybe?"

"I don't know, I hope he isn't hell-bent on killing me though. If I am a primary target, then he may not leave until I'm six feet under…" Nero looked over to Lady who was rubbing her chin and casually looking to the ceiling. "But, luring him away is a good idea."

"Or maybe, we can convince him that you are dead," said Lady throwing out more ideas to the other two. "Hmmm."

"Maybe, sounds complicated though," said Nero as his brow furrowed a bit from thinking. He racked his brain trying to come up with something- anything to get them out of this predicament.  
Dante remained unusually quiet throughout the planning. He stared into the distance and took it all in. The elder slayer's breathing was even, but his blue eyes held an intense look. These plans, they were no good. He knew what had to be done, and who had to do it.

"Hey Dante, what do you think," questioned Lady. Dante snapped out of his stupor and looked at Lady. She had a puzzled look on her face. The brunette wondered why he was being so quiet when he should be the one in a major uproar about it all.

"I think…that we should all call it a night." He abruptly stood up and scooted his chair back with a loud wail. A stillness filled the room as the words were processed.

"What gives old man?" Nero looked at Dante like he was insane. "I thought we were making some battle plans here." Lady followed suit and shot the white-haired slayer an equally puzzled look.  
"It's late, and you need your rest kid. You agree with me Lady, right?"

She couldn't say no that Nero didn't need to- he could use all the rest he could get. She rolled her eyes before answering, "Well yeah, but why don't we talk about this some more? There's still plans to be made."

Dante pushed his chair in under the desk and lifted his arms over his head in a big stretch. "Well, it's nothing that can't wait until tomorrow- and we all need our rest for what's coming." Before anyone could argue with him he headed up the stairs and gave a loud yawn. "We can talk about this more in the morning- night."

And just like that the elder slayer disappeared upstairs with an audible thud of his bedroom door closing. The two remaining slayers simply looked at one another wondering what had just happened.  
"Umm, okay," said Nero aloud," that was weird." He shook his head and laid back onto the cushions of the couch letting out a sigh. He closed his eyes and allowed Lady to respond.

Lady nodded her head and analyzed his strange behavior. "I think that he's been out of it since you and Trish showed up yesterday. Maybe he just needs a few days to gather his thoughts?" She gave him what seemed plausible.

"Yeah I guess so, but he is starting to give me whiplash…" Nero stood up from the couch with only a slight grimace and headed for the stairs as well. "I guess I'm going to go lay down again- let me know if anything happens okay?" he mumbled to himself as he followed the steps upstairs.

Lady nodded at him and watched him ascend the stairs. She stood alone in the empty room. After she heard Nero's door shut she walked over to Dante's desk and searched for a pen and some paper. Through all the mess and clutter she eventually found a pen and used the back of a piece of mail to scribble a short note.

I'm going back to my place; let me know if anything happens.  
-Lady

She left the note sitting on his desk where he would be sure to find it and picked up her things before leaving the building. Something was off, and it gave her the chills. She closed the door behind her unsure of what was to come.


	11. Chapter 11

Nero sat at the desk in his room, pondering the odd actions of Dante. He was a man that liked to take action now and ask questions….never. Dante enjoyed throwing around his brawn while simultaneously being an ass. So this, the strange silence, the 'waiting until tomorrow to talk' act was out of character.

The teen heard the front door close. Lady. They had all dispersed for the night. He idly scribbled on a piece of paper in front of him.

Maybe Dante was being responsible. A good night's sleep might give everyone a chance to brainstorm, because for the brief moment that they had "planned" they had come up with nothing really.  
Nero glanced at his closed bedroom door. He hadn't heard any noise from Dante's room since he had called off the group meeting and fled.

"Maybe the old man just needs a nap," Nero chuckled to himself.

He dropped the pen that was in his hand and he slowly moved from the desk to the bed. Despite sleeping most of the day away a few more hours of sleep didn't sound too bad. The white-haired teen slipped under the covers and pulled them up to his chin- cocooning himself.

After thinking things over for a few more minutes his eyelids fluttered and he felt his tiredness get the better of him. Nero rolled over and flipped off the lamp resting on his bedside table.  
"I guess the real planning starts tomorrow…."

________________________________________  
The light from under Nero's door went off. Dante remained leaning back on his headboard with his arms behind his head. He needed to give the kid a few more minutes to drift off to sleep before he did anything.

Dante closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Halfway through the group discussion earlier he had come to terms with what he had to do.

The hunter was not going to simply leave town, that much he was sure of. And if he knew anything about hunters it was that they always returned to kill the prey that got away- Nero. With the hunter knowing more about Nero and his skills and abilities there was a good chance that if the kid faced him again he would be killed.

After a few minutes had passed Dante made a move. He shifted off of the messy bed and set to work on gathering everything he would need for the confrontation. He kept most of his weapons downstairs, except his pistols- they were never out of arm's reach.

The elder slayer picked up Ebony and Ivory. He ran his eyes over the smooth surfaces of the hand-crafted weapons. They were instruments of pure and simple death. While not everyone liked using firearms in battle he loved nothing more than having his pistols by his side.

After holstering the twin guns he proceeded to clad himself in his usual death-dealing attire. Dante made sure to be as quiet as possible so that he wouldn't wake Nero. The last thing he needed was for a wounded kid tagging along trying to "help".

"The kid just doesn't have it in 'im," thought Dante to himself. "Nobody needs that kind of blood on their hands- except me. My hands are already so stained, what's one more tarnishing?"

He quietly slipped from his room and crept downstairs, stopping briefly when the floorboards let out a shrill creak on his way down the stairs. Dante paused and averted his attention to Nero's closed door. No change. He continued downstairs to his devil arms.

It was decided that he would take Alastor for this job. The heavy sword was a familiar and somehow comforting weight on his back.

As Dante was leaving he saw the note on his desk. He read it and crumpled the paper in his fist. It was his fight- he could do it alone. He tossed the paper onto the floor and slipped out of the building into the dead of night. Blood would be spilled before the morning sun rose.

________________________________________  
"Ok, now to find the damn guy," said Dante as he hurriedly rounded the corner moving in the direction that Nero had faced the hunter before. The part of the city that he was headed was not very busy, that was especially true at this time of night.

A cool bite was in the air, it sent a few prickles down his neck. But more than anything, his heart was pumping and his body was filled with adrenaline in preparation for the battle to come.

A little ways farther the chill on his body intensified. He stopped momentarily and took in his surroundings. With cautious movements he withdrew Ebony and spun on his heels. There was nobody behind him. Only the faint rustling of trash on the ground permeated the silence.

Holstering the pistol he let out a sigh.

"Come out Lady, I know you're there," he said with annoyance etched into his voice.

"About time you noticed me following you," she said as she slinked out from behind a corner," I hope the famous demon hunter Dante isn't losing his edge." She gave a coy smile as she approached the slayer.

She was armed as well, with her rocket launcher and a pistol resting on her upper thigh. Dante's eyes wandered to the pistol resting just below the hem of her skirt. Lady drew the weapon and pointed it at Dante's face.

"It's been a while since I put a bullet in your head, have you forgotten what it feels like," said Lady coolly with her finger gripping the trigger.

"Take it easy there hot stuff, I was only checking out what all you brought to the party."

Lady rolled her eyes and put away the weapon at hearing the slayer's lame response. He really was a clueless idiot to her. She crossed her arms and engaged him.

"So, you were planning on facing this guy alone without telling anyone in the dead of night?" Lady awaited his answer, already knowing though that she was right-like always.

'Well, you see….hmm. Yeah, I guess something like that." Dante turned to put his back to her- hating that he got caught. "I just didn't want Nero getting involved this time- he would only want to help fight and get himself more hurt."

"Okay, but that doesn't explain why you didn't call Trish or myself to accompany you. This guy is serious business Dante, and I would even worry about you going into battle alone with this guy." Lady stared at him intently, she was serious.

"This is my fight and I didn't want anyone getting in the way. Plus Trish is indisposed at the moment. "

"Oh, so you think I'll only get in the way, do you?" questioned Lady feeling highly insulted by the half-devil's remark. "We'll just see won't we? I'll kick his ass then I'll kick yours!"  
Dante chuckled and resumed walking again. "Ok, we'll see about that."

Lady followed suit and walked right alongside him. "Indeed."

The pair walked in silence allowing their senses to help them detect anyone or anything threatening. The city was quiet, except for the wail of sirens in the background.  
"So how do you plan on finding this hunter?" Lady questioned Dante's method, mainly because she didn't know how to find him either.

"Well I figured I would go to where Nero said he fought with the guy," replied Dante," that's the best lead we've got."

Lady nodded in reply. It was true; they didn't have much to go on as to where the hunter prowled. If this didn't work they would have to start scouring the city for the guy.

________________________________________  
A while later they arrived at their destination. It was a fairly open area, looked to be the back of a warehouse or shipping site.

Something caught Dante's eye and he walked over to investigate with Lady hot on his heels. Two dark stains were next to each other. He kneeled down and touched a finger to it. The slayer rubbed what was left of the substance on the ground- blood.

"This must be where Nero and that hunter fought," said Lady as she too examined the dark stains on the ground before them.

Dante gritted his teeth together as he watched the blood catch the light and glint. This is where Nero had been stabbed, and this was his blood on his hand. He reasoned that the other dark spot belonged to the hunter, where the kid got him with his devil bringer maybe.

As Dante rose back to his feet he rubbed the blood on his pants and snapped his head to the left. Stepping out of the darkness were three Hell Vanguard. The demons eyes glowed a deep purple as the waved their scythes in the night air.

"I bet lesser demons have been showing up here all day," began Dante, "they are drawn to the smell of demonic blood."

"If demons have been frequenting this spot, then that means we have a better chance of catching out hunter," replied Lady assessing their luck.  
Dante nodded his head in agreement.

The two immediately leapt into battle. These demons were simple matters to attend to, nothing they hadn't dealt with hundreds of times before.

Dante withdrew Ebony and Ivory and sprinted to the vanguards. Lady took out her firearm and aimed at the enemy. One vanguard disappeared from the battle and re-appeared behind Lady. She swiftly spun around and dodged as the lesser demon sliced the space she had occupied only moments ago.

Meanwhile the half-devil took on the remaining two. He wasted no time and went straight for the kill. Dodging slices and attacks from the demons he fired his weapons. The Vanguards made haste in using their powers to disappear and reappear to miss the shots.

"What the Hell, is that all you can do?" shouted Dante in frustration.

He unleashed a flurry of bullets at the demons. They weren't able to avoid the onslaught and were quickly reduced to dust. Concurrently Lady made waste to her demon with a deadly aimed bullet.  
The demon's wails were immediately quieted as their remains blew away in the breeze.

"Bravo."

Dante and Lady both turned to locate where the new voice in the air had come from. Their eyes immediately fell onto a dark-clad figure coming into view from just beyond the dim street light. The man clapped his hands a few times and halted.

"Thank you for doing my job for me," said the hunter. "But now I need something else to kill." His eyes shifted between the two and finally rested on Dante. Dante returned the hunter's gaze with an intense hateful stare of his own.

"Shall I run you through just like I did your comrade, demon?"


	12. Chapter 12

The hunter stepped closer to the pair. His cold eyes never left Dante. The devil before him resembled the boy from the other day very much, noted the hunter.

Dante glanced to the hunter's hand and noticed the tightly wrapped bandages on the man's hand. The area was probably where Nero had clawed the man- he had apparently gotten him pretty good. The wrappings had a slight red staining.

"You must be the kin of that young devil I previously faced- he favors you greatly. I figured one of his filthy brethren would come looking for me in cold blood," growled the hunter who was now slowly weaving his way around Dante and Lady. He slithered in a predatory fashion, sizing up his prey.

"Whoa, you got it wrong man," began Dante throwing his palms out," just because I'm a good looking cat doesn't mean I've got kids running around this city- got it?" He smirked at the game he was stirring with his opponent.

'Typical Dante,' thought Lady, 'here we are in a death-match with a devil hunter, and all he can do is spout off sarcastic hoopla.'

The hunter froze for a moment before retorting, "Oh well, despite your similar appearances it seems I'm mistaken. Guess you weren't too heart-broken when you found his bloodied corpse then?"  
Dante flinched at the words. Imagining Nero as Dante had seen him that day, bloodied and on the thin line between life and death, made his temper rise. Before him stood the man that nearly snuffed out the kid's life.

He needed to calm down. The hunter was obviously trying to get a rise out of him which would only make his attacks sloppy and unfocused. He decided it best not to inform the hunter that Nero was in fact still alive. The half-devil clenched his teeth and tried a new tactic.

"Tell me, what is all of this about?" He had a genuine curiosity. Why the hell did this guy seem to have a death warrant out on everyone all of the sudden?

Lady cocked her head in response, equally as curious to know what was going on around here.

"If by 'this' you mean hunting and killing demons, then let me tell you it's my job," the hunter flexed his hand in preparation for the battle that could erupt at any moment. "Even more than that though, it's something I take great pleasure in."

"Did you not care that the kid you attacked was still a teenager?" Dante said feeling his blood begin to boil. "He's not even a full demon, what right do you have in determining his fate?"

The black-clad man let out a hollow chuckle.

"It matters not how old a demon is, or how much vile demonic blood courses through their impure veins. All that matters is that they die- whatever it takes."

The tension between the two was thick. An eerie silence had fallen over the area since the vanguards had been vanquished. The combatants knew that a battle was unavoidable. Too many words and too many unforgivable actions had been committed for it all to be forgotten.

"I think you have this all mistaken. " A smirk fell upon the hunter's lips. "I'm not doing this for a vendetta, no, not because some demon murdered my family." With a straight and cold face he said," I do this because I enjoy it…"

That was all Dante needed to hear. There was no reasoning or toying with the idea of a compromise here. Although the man was a demon-hunter, and possibly a good man, he couldn't allow him to live after what he had done.

Dante drew his sword and prepared for battle. The blade felt comfortable in his hands- the heavy weight familiar and calming.

Lady went along with the flow and retrieved her pistol from her thigh. Just as she cocked the gun Dante put his hand in her direction. His palm was to her, warding her off intruding.  
"Lady, this is my battle," Dante didn't spare her a glance- his gaze was fixed on his opponent.

After giving him a slight glare she forfeited and took a few steps back. She understood what he was feeling. There were certain things that a person had to take care of themselves. Even though she had thought as much, even when following Dante from Devil May Cry earlier, she couldn't help but be there for support.

The silver-haired man felt Lady retreat back, assuring him that this was his battle. With a deep inhale he tightened his grip on Alastor and moved forward towards his enemy.

"I prefer it this way as well," the hunter remarked withdrawing his machete in response. "I have no intention of harming an innocent human." The blue-hued weapon caught Dante's eye. He knew full and well to steer clear of his blade.

After taking a moment to clear his thoughts, he did what he did best when going into a tough battle- threw out some insults!

"I don't have all night you know, so let's get this dance over with." The two found themselves moving in a slow and steady circle facing each other warily. "Let's wrap this up so I can get a slice of pizza before heading home."

The hunter was a man of few words, and even fewer to the likes of demons. He wasn't going to play Dante's game and instead focused on his first move.

"Cat got your tongue man, or do you just have a stick up your as-" Dante was cut off as the hunter swiftly jousted at him with the sharp point of his weapon. He quickly caught on and dodged out of the way. The passing of the blade gave off an audible whiz.

As he was steadying himself the hunter wasted no time in continuing his barrage. He took another stab at the devil, only this time his blade was met with a thunderous cry from Dante's own sword. The ringing carried out into the chilly night air.

The two were close now, their blades sliding across each other slowly. They were in close range now, and Dante got a better look at the dark man. He had cold eyes and dark hair. After looking him over for a few seconds he confirmed that he didn't recognize the man.

With a push, the hunter broke the pair apart and readied himself for another round of strikes.

The man was good with a blade, but the half-devil was nothing to shake a stick at when it came to true swordsmanship. Not many could best Dante in a swordfight.  
This time Dante made the first move and brought his sword down over his head with great force. Once again the two blades met. The hunter was growling as he held back the power that was trying to come down onto him.

With the weight of not only his blade but Dante's as well he gave a tremendous push and broke the contact. The man immediately took a step back and put some distance between the two.  
'I don't need to draw this battle out,' thought Dante allowing his grip to tighten and prepare for yet another attack. 'This needs to end before any surprises pop out.'

The silver-haired devil ran sword-first towards his enemy. The hunter responded not with his own blade, but with his revolver. He had sheathed the blade and now handled the gun; he could not wield both at once due to his hand's injuries.

A thunderous clap erupted as the gun emitted a bullet at Dante.

Deciding to keep toe-to-toe in the fight Dante rolled to the side escaping the bullet. He placed Alastor back in the holster on his back and withdrew the twin guns Ebony and Ivory.  
Noting that the hunter's gun was a six-shot Dante planned to use this knowledge to his advantage. He needed only to avoid the remaining five bullets before the battle would switch once again to hand-to-hand combat.

________________________________________  
Lady cautiously watched the two ferociously battle.

'For a human this guy is giving Dante more trouble than he looks,' considered Lady. The battle had turned to a long-range war; whether this was to Dante's advantage or not she didn't know.  
The dark clad man let another shot ring then raced towards Dante.

The half-devil dodged the bullet and readied himself for whatever the hunter was doing. The man was approaching him, which made little sense since they were currently in a fire fight. Preparing for the worst Dante, within a split-second, had readied his firearms.

The hunter was within close-range to Dante now and raised his revolver for what looked like another shot.

Dante anticipated a close up assault and primed himself to dodge.

Unexpectedly the hunter withdrew his blade with his wounded hand. His faced twisted in pain as his hand wrapped around his machete. More blood began to stain the already pink fabric as his tender flesh ripped while grasping the weapon.

The hunter's blade sliced through the air. Dante was taken by surprise, fully expecting the man to shoot at him. The half-devil tried to re-direct his momentum in the opposite direction. The man's machete managed to get a long slice onto Dante's upper thigh.

"Damn it!" shouted Dante as the blade bit through the fabric of his pants slicing into his flesh. He had managed to move himself out of the way of the brunt of the blow, which would have caused him very severe damage.

Dante put more range between the two and assessed his wound. The cut wasn't too deep, but enough that his leg was weeping blood. And as expected, the wound was showing no signs of mending itself.  
The hunter, immediately after Dante moved back, dropped his blade. The hand that had once gripped the weapon was now dripping with blood.

"Shit," the hunter hissed through his clenched teeth,"…had to be done though." The man knew that he had to utilize any means necessary to take down the devil in front of him- anything.  
The black clad man raced towards Dante to end the battle.

Dante ignored the blood dripping down his leg and the puddle that was forming beneath his feet. He braced himself for the attack.

Lady took a sharp intake of breath. The hunter's blade had hit Dante. She decided to go against Dante's wishes and prepared to charge against the hunter and stop him from getting to Dante.  
'I'm a human, so he won't hurt me,' thought Lady as she withdrew her pistol. 'If I can intervene, then he has no choice but to face me and stop this battle.' She deemed this a good plan and sped towards the two men.

She jumped in front of Dante to stop the hunter's frontal attack.

In an instant the hunter lifted his revolver and aimed it straight at Lady. Dante's eyes widened. Just as the bullet was released he pushed Lady and the two fell to the ground in a heap.  
Lady let lose a cry that echoed into the night. The bullet had pierced her left shoulder, narrowly missing her heart. Dante lay beside her giving her a worried look.

"What the Hell were you thinking?" said Dante as he glared at her. She winced as the two got to their feet.

"She was thinking that I wouldn't hurt her," responded the hunter with a sinister smirk, "that since she was a human, a woman, that she would be spared my attacks."

He glared at the pair before him. The devil was putting his weight on one leg, easing the wound that was inflicted upon the other. And the woman was still clutching her shoulder, desperately trying to stop the bleeding.

"I will not hesitate to kill anything or anyone that stands in my way," barked the hunter," I will do anything to kill my prey!"

This is what Dante needed to hear. He took a step in front of Lady, she was out of commission and the battle was all his now.

"This makes my job a lot easier now, I have no problem killing assholes," bellowed Dante.

The air thickened as the battle came to a head. Dante holstered his pistols and stepped forward. The hunter aimed his revolver at the devil curiously watching his foe.  
Dante felt his anger rise and his demonic power begin to flow. He inhaled deeply and prepared for the final blow.

He sped towards the hunter with a burst of speed, closing the space between them. Taking long strides forward Dante felt his power explode. His body was wrapped with a layer of energy. He felt his fingers turn to talons, and his soft skin grew hard and armored. With a deafening cry he triggered.

The hunter had no time to react. His eyes shot wide open as the red demon sped towards him. Doing all that he could he let loose the remaining bullets in his gun. The bullets hit the oncoming devil, but did nothing to stop him.

The half-devil grabbed the hunter by the throat and threw him to the unforgiving ground. The hunter's head cracked against the concrete. Dante looked into the hunter's eyes one last time, seeing nothing but pure hate and malice.

The hunter felt Dante's claws wrapped around his neck. He looked at the demon in front of him and narrowed his eyes and spat.

Holding nothing back Dante let his claws sink into the man's soft flesh. He dug into his throat feeling the man's hot and sticky blood swirl through his talons. His grip tightened and he pulled away the man's throat.

The hunter let out a garbled sound as blood poured out of the gaping hole in his neck. His eyes opened widely before finally fluttering shut one last time.  
Dante stood there above the man still holding his torn-out throat in one hand. He let out a demonic cry before throwing the flesh onto the ground.  
With a crackle of energy he morphed back into his human state. His cry turned into a yell before fading into silence.

He looked at his blood-soaked arm. It was over.

Lady moved cautiously over to Dante. The two stood there in silence allowing everything to calm down. There were a million words to say, but neither spoke a word.  
"Go home Dante, I'll clean this up…." Lady offered before placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

He replied with a nod and turned to leave.

The hunter was dead, and his blood on his hands. He had a feeling swirling around inside of him. It wasn't hate, or grief, or even remorse. No, he felt, relieved


	13. Chapter 13

The walk back home was utterly silent. It was the dead of night and the city seemed to be on pause. The constant thudding of Dante's boots kept rhythm with his steady pace back to Devil May Cry.

The battle was now over, but he still had to deal with Nero. The older slayer pondered for a moment. Nero was going to be pissed at him for leaving without a word in the dead of night. And, the thought that plagued Dante even more, what he had actually done on his vengeful mission.

The hunter's blood was still on his hands, literally. How would Nero react after hearing that Dante had killed the man- the human? He wasn't sure how forgiving the kid would be towards his actions.  
The familiar building was slowly coming into view now. All Dante wanted was to wrap up his bleeding leg, take a hot shower, and pass out. It wouldn't be that easy though. The morning sun was just beyond the horizon now, streaking the sky with dark purple and burnt orange. Knowing his luck, Nero would wake up early and notice Dante's weapons gone.

The half-demon stood on the steps of the building. Dante took in a deep breath and hoped for the best.

Dante opened the old door and walked inside. He kicked off his worn boots and made his way for the stairs. There was no sign of Nero being awake, so he let out a small sigh. Maybe he would have time to shower and get to bed before he was caught. He could sleep in until noon, like usual, and the younger slayer would be none the wiser.

He began up the stairs, wincing at the stinging pain in his leg. He paused for a brief moment, and then continued onward.

"Hey…" The word seemed to slice through the air and make Dante hold his breath. He whirled around and saw Nero come out of the kitchen with his arms crossed. He had been caught.  
"Good morning kid, sorry but I'm not in the mood for breakfast," Dante smirked at Nero playing his best poker face.

Nero stepped forward. "Save it, I know where you've been Dante."

The elder took a few steps down the stairs until he was once again in the living room. He was face-to-face with Nero.

"Yeah Lady called and I took an urgent mission," he began to explain. "You're still out of commission so I left you here sleeping beauty." He let out a chuckle, crossing his arms in reply and boasting his own story.

"Uh huh, then why do you have a gash on your leg old man," questioned Nero pointing a finger at Dante's wound. "And, your hand…."

'Ah shit, forgot about that,' thought Dante, 'the loss of blood is making me senile.' He clenched his bloodied hand into a fist.

Dante breathed out a heavy breath and uncrossed his arms. He allowed himself to slump, knowing that Nero had called his bluff.

"Look kid, I had something that I needed to take care of, and I did, okay?" Dante said a little more hotly than he had planned. Something about the situation he didn't like; he took a defensive stance.  
Nero's face softened a bit. "I'm not attacking you old man, I just don't want you to lie to my face. I heard you leave last night and I let you go without saying anything."

The half-devil looked a little puzzled at hearing this. "Okay, then why didn't you try to stop me?"

"Because, you wouldn't have. You're a stubborn asshole who doesn't listen to anyone."

"But, if you knew where I was going, then you must have known what I was going to do, right?" Dante questioned Nero wondering where he was coming from.

"Yeah, I knew. Dante, if you wouldn't have killed him I would have!" Nero let the words settle. There was more to it though, something he didn't want to say out loud. It's not that he wanted Dante to do his dirty work; it's that he knew he would've been killed if he had faced the hunter again. He would have gone down trying though.

Dante knew what Nero's intentions were, even without him voicing them. That's why he had taken on the heavy burden himself- to spare Nero's life.

"Well kid….it's done, so don't worry about it okay?" He cut the conversation short, not wanting much more to be said. Dante felt exhausted and turned to leave for his bedroom. Before he could ascend the stairs he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Dante turned to see Nero staring intently at him. Nero withdrew his arm and faced the older hunter.

"Thanks…Dante…" The younger hunter looked down at the floor feeling a bit embarrassed.

Dante nodded, understanding the meaning to his words whole-heartedly. He had done what Nero could not.

He clapped the white-haired teen on the shoulder and replied," No problem, Nero."

The older devil turned and ascended the stairs to finally indulge in a shower and some much needed sleep.

Nero watched him go and turned with a faint smile on his lips. Nothing was different. Dante was still a stubborn, lazy, skirt-chaser. Nero, however, had come to understand the bond that had been growing between them since he first came to live with Dante.

The younger slayer returned to his room to grab a few hours of sleep. He had been awake all night, awaiting his comrade's return.


End file.
